Treat Yourself to Gorgeous is the perfect holiday gift because you can gift the whole thing or break this set into three substantial stocking stuffers! Each of the different components – 20 eye shadows, four eyeliners, and set of four glosses – comes in a beautiful individual box…so really, there’s no wrapping necessary. (more…)

Becca CosmeticsWHEN: November 25DEAL: Spend $75 and get a free mini Shimmering Skin Perfector and full-size Beach Tint. Spend $125 and get those two products plus two full-size Glossy Lip Tints and a Becca Brown Cosmetics Pouch. Plus, Becca is releasing a limited-edition nail color collection for $30.

Benefit CosmeticsWHEN: November 23 – November 25DEAL: Spend $30 and get a FREE deluxe mini BADgal lash mascara. Spend $60 and also get a FREE deluxe mini the porefessional. Spend $90 and also get a deluxe mini sugarbomb. Enter STAYCATION at checkout. (more…)

I jokingly refer to myself as “the bag lady.” Except it’s not really a joke. I carry way too many bags. On an average evening, I return home from work (and daycare) juggling my purse, my laptop bag, Westley’s backpack and lunch bag – plus any shopping bags I’ve accumulated that day. And I need to have at least one hand free to prevent my fearless two-year-old from darting into the street. So I’ve been searching for a crossbody bag to help lighten my load and free up my hands.

The crossbody I want should be work appropriate, but casual enough for weekends. I also need a one that is roomy enough to accommodate my hoarder tendencies, but not so big that I can never find what I’m looking for.

After some window shopping and exhaustive Google searches, I finally found my brainchild brought to life…on the arm of Jennifer Aniston. Her ubiquitous Tom Ford Flap-Over Bag was exactly what I had dreamed – well, minus the $4,000 price tag. I was so frustrated because I love everything about this bag (particularly the fold-over, zippered flap) and knew I’d be hard-pressed to find a lookalike in my price range.

Kate Spade New York Cobble Hill Little Minka Satchel, $378
Pros: High quality, versatile design and available in a variety of colors
Cons: I’m cheap and it’s too close to Christmas for me to splurge on this bag, though I might snatch it up if I spied it at an outlet store

So – long story short (too late), I almost settled and bought the Kate Spade bag. But the shopping gods intervened and led me to the Lodis Dahlia Joelle Hobo (sorry…no longer available). It’s the spitting image of the Tom Ford bag (down to the zippered flap and expandable gusset) for just $268!!!!!! I can’t believe my luck.

I’m no pro makeup artist. But there’s one beauty technique that I’ve got down pat – the elusive cat eye. It requires patience and a steady paw…but once you put in a little practice, a ferosh fe-lined eye isn’t far off.

Besides practice, high-quality/easy-to-use products are the key to this look. I used three CoverGirl products to achieve this purr-fect cat eye. It was easy, breezy and beautiful – if I do say so myself. Here’s how I did it:

1) Apply the silver end of CoverGirl Smokey ShadowBlast – Onyx Smoke all over your lid – from the lash line and up past the crease. Also use it to trace the inner corner of your eye to make your peepers pop.

2) Line the top lid using CoverGirl LiquilineBlast Eyeliner – Black Fire. At the outer corner of the eye, curve the line up slightly. Figuring out the angle of the “flick” can be kind of tricky, so here’s a tip: aim for the point where your brow ends.

4) Create fierce fringe with CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara. This mascara is amazing, y’all. It features an innovative curved brush that lets you load up the volume without the clumps, even after 30 strokes!

See how simple it is? With these three CoverGirl products, you can go from “I don’t know how” to MEOW!

Upload a picture of your Curl Confession on the Truth About Curls Facebook app, using the hashtag #curlconfession (and after you submit, enter your information for a chance to win the entire full-sized Curls product line, which will be awarded weekly). You can also submit your confession by posting your #curlconfession on Twitter or Instagram anytime before 11:59 EST on 11/14.

These Curl Confession photos will be projected on the hippest locales in New York and Los Angeles on November 15. People who see the projections in-person (locations will be posted on the Paul Mitchell Facebook page) will be able to scan a QR code to enter for a chance to win fabulous prizes. If you can’t see it in person, projections will be streamed live, starting at 6pm EST on 11/15 for the NYC spectacle, and 6pm PST for the sister event in LA.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Paul Mitchell, however, all opinions expressed are my own.